Pelicans Silence Thunder In High Scoring Affair

Anthony Davis scored 30, while Jrue Holiday and Ryan Anderson combined for 48 off the bench, helping the New Orleans Pelicans top the Oklahoma City Thunder 123-119 in an entertaining matchup at the Smoothie King Center.

"I thought we played extremely hard and did a very good job of handling the game plan," said Pelicans head coach Alvin Gentry.

A game plan that consisted of up-tempo, fast paced basketball. The Thunder played on Wednesday, and Gentry wanted the Pelicans to run them out the arena.

However, Thunder stars Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant never ran out of gas, scoring 44 and 32 respectively, keeping Oklahoma City within reach of a victory until the final seconds of play.

The biggest difference was the play of the benches, where the Pelicans outscored the Thunder reserves 60-20, with all 60 coming from Holiday (22), Anderson (26) and Toney Douglas (12).

"We're doing a great job of dealing with adversity and playing with whoever we can put on the floor," said Davis to TNT reporter Craig Sager after the win. "It doesn't matter who is on the floor, we've just got to compete and play with an extreme motive."

Davis landed awkwardly on his knee in the final minutes of play, forcing a Pelicans timeout and giving the rowdy New Orleans fans a scare. Following the timeout, Davis was back on the floor.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I wasn't coming out the game," explained Davis to Sager. "I wanted to make sure we got the win. I'm fine."

The win was the 5th in 7 games for the Pelicans (23-34), including their 3rd straight at home.

Next up for the Pels, a home matchup with the Minnesota Timberwolves on Saturday. Tip-off is set for 6:00.